1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical field regarding navigation systems, and particularly, to navigation systems that guide a movable body towards a set destination.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, navigation systems mounted in a vehicle for guiding the movement of the vehicle by displaying a map on a display such as a liquid crystal display panel mounted in the vehicle has become extremely common.
In these in-vehicle navigation systems, when a travel route to a destination is retrieved, the geographical point of the destination (referred to below simply as the destination point) needs to be set in advance before the trip, and this setting of the destination point is done using an operation section such as a remote control or the like.
For example, methods that are employed include a method in which the setting is based on the name of a town or region, a method in which the setting is based on a telephone number, and a method in which the setting is selected a geographical point from geographical points that have been previously registered.
However, if no destination point is set, it is not possible for a navigation system to plan a route to a destination point by retrieving travel routes, and particularly, to plan a route to a destination point by retrieving travel routes while also taking into consideration information from, for example, a vehicle information and communication system (referred to below simply as VICS). Therefore, when a conventional navigation system is used, it is necessary for a destination point to be set using an operation section such as a remote control or the like, as is described above. As a result, there is a problem that the complicated operation for someone who is technically unskilled of setting a destination point in the navigation system has had to be executed. Moreover, it has been necessary to set a destination point in order to retrieve a travel route even when the trip is only for a short distance, and because this travel route needs to be set before the trip begins, there is a problem that if the trip has required the retrieval of a travel route, it has not been possible to begin the trip immediately.